Growth Performance and Haematological Indices in Calves Fed with Probiotic Supplement 'Bacticor'

Abstract

The paper presents the study results on the effect of a feed probiotic supplement ‘Bacticor’ on biochemical and morphological parameters of blood, absolute and average daily live weight gains in calves and   economic efficiency of raising the animals.  The farm experiments conducted before showed that 20 g per head was the optimal daily dose of the supplement. The established dose of the feed probiotic supplement increased the final live weight by 1.77 % and absolute live weight gain rose by 8.3 %. The viability of the study calves for all groups was reported 100 % throughout the experiment. The study feed supplement had a positive effect on the formation of specific immunity in calves. A noticeable decrease in the concentration of lymphocytes was observed in the middle of the experiment, where the concentration of these specific cells was 3.6*10⁹/l compared to 8.9*10⁹/l in the control group. The feed supplement ‘Bacticor’ slightly increased the concentration of total protein by 1.73-3.22%, glucose by 7.0-14.5% in the blood serum of calves.  Rearing one calf for three months of the experiment required 3.89-3.93 EFU (Energy Feed Unit); the costs for 1 kg of live weight gain were by 7.2 % lower in the test group than in the control group.

Keywords: Probiotic supplement, Bacillus subtilus, Strains, Microorganisms, Lactobacilli, Pre-weaning calves, Haematological parameters, Immune resistance, Feed conversion.